A mother and three of her sons died within 10 days of each other, after contracting coronavirus

In Louisiana, a mother and her three sons have died within days after catching the deadly virus.

The mother was the 86-year-old Antoinette Franklin from New Orleans. Antoinette and her sons Herman Franklin Jr., 71, Anthony Franklin Sr., 58 and Timothy Franklin, 61, all lost their lives from coronavirus between March 20 and 30.

The first one to die from COVID-19 was Herman Franklin.

The father of eight died on March 20.

Only 6 days later, on March 26, Anthony Franklin Sr., passed away. Anthony has left behind two children and their mother. Timothy Franklin died a few days later, on March 30. Their mother, a lifelong resident of New Orleans, passed away on March 23.

Antoinette and her three sons all tested positive for coronavirus. However, it’s still unclear if they were tested for COVID-19 before or after they died. Their underlying causes of death have not been revealed yet. What’s clear is they all died within days after becoming ill at the same time.

Their family wants everyone to know about their loved ones’ tragic deaths because this could happen to anyone. Jacqueline Franklin, wife of Anthony Franklin Sr. told WDSU:

“I want the world to know if it happened to the Franklin family it could happen to any family. Let’s take this serious. My children have to bury their father, their precious grandmother and their uncles.”

Since New Orleans has emerged as one of the early coronavirus hot spots in the U.S., the death rate there is almost twice as the one in New York.

Medics and public health officials are blaming the Big Easy’s high levels of obesity and related ailments, according to Mail Online.

New Orleans residents tend to be more vulnerable to coronavirus due to obesity, diabetes, and higher than the national average rates of hypertension. According to the Louisiana health department, around 97% of those killed by COVID-19 in the state had a pre-existing condition.

Despite their age gaps, family members often suffer from similar medical conditions before becoming sick, leaving them similarly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Hospitals have been reporting cases across the generation, such as this one with the 86-year-old mother and her three sons.